Scope and arrangement
The Beni Montresor papers date from 1953 to 1999 (bulk dates: 1970-1989) and contain correspondence, photographs, screenplays, scripts, programs, articles, and designs that document Montresor's multifaceted artistic career.
The collection includes Montresor's Tony Award nominations for best costume design and best scenic design for The Marriage of Figaro. A small amount of correspondence from late in Montresor's career shows his efforts to promote his production of Othello and search for new theatre and opera projects in the late 1990s. Designs are limited to costume sketches, front elevations, and floor plans for the operas Iphigenie and Pelleas et Melisande.
Photographs date from the 1960s to 1999 and depict the final products of Montresor's costume and set designs in opera, dance, and theatre. One set of negatives shows scenes from the Metropolitan Opera's production of Cinderella, with Montresor's costume and scenic designs featured. Photostat duplicates of Montresor's original drawings are also included. Most photographs from the 1960s are housed in an album with production names noted on each page.
Programs originate from Montresor's scenic and costume design work for opera, dance, and theatre throughout his career. Programs for exhibits of Montresor's designs are also included, along with promotional material for screenings of Montresor's films. The productions represented in the programs are primarily in Italy and the United States, with some productions from Switzerland, Germany, and Spain. Interfiled with the programs are published reviews of his work in opera, stage, and film productions as well as feature articles about Montresor.
Screenplays and scripts hold draft and revised scripts written by Montresor for theatre and film projects, many of which were not produced. Most of the scripts and screenplays date between the 1970s and 1990s. Translations of the scripts into French, English, and Italian are often included.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by genre or document type: Correspondence, Designs, Photographs, Programs, Screenplays and Scripts, and Tony Nominations.